“The Ultimate Fighter 12″ veteran Alex Caceres set himself apart from other contestants with a big mouth and a sendup to Bruce Lee.

But as his octagon career moves on, he’s trying to find the real him.

“The more I’m growing into myself, the more I have to separate myself from that successful image,” Caceres told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “I can’t rely on his successful image to explain myself. I have to dig deep and search within myself to find who I really am.”

Caceres (6-5 MMA, 1-3 UFC), who on Wednesday fights Damacio Page (15-7 MMA, 0-2 UFC) at “UFC on FUEL TV 4: Munoz vs. Weidman,” said he’s not abandoning the nickname that won him so much attention, positive and negative.

“I don’t regret that character at all,” he said. “It was a name that was given to me. It’s a name that people can relate to me, and something I can relate to, as well.

“Back then, I tried to be more like [Lee]. But as of now, I’m trying to be more like me, which, in turn, is being more like him because that’s what he tried to preach: be more like yourself.”

Caceres vs. Page streams on Facebook as part of UFC on FUEL TV 4’s preliminary card, which precedes main-card bouts on FUEL TV.

It might sound like Caceres is having an identity crisis, but he said his new outlook is merely a product of an active mind that’s been studying the different sides of the fight game: physical, mental and spiritual.

“I think it all ties together,” he said. “They’re very much more intertwined than we think. We shouldn’t separate the spirituality and the physical-ness of this art and sport. I’ve just been dabbling into things trying to expand my mind as much as my body.”

If change were to come at any time in his career, now might be best. At 1-3 inside the octagon, Caceres, who lost in the quarterfinals of “TUF 12,” is dangerously close to a pink slip. Although he was winning his most recent fight, a meeting with Edwin Figueroa at UFC 143, he was deducted two points for groin strikes and lost by split decision.

Caceres believes he got the short end of the stick from referee Herb Dean, but said he’s moved on from the setback.

“I have to get over with it because I can’t turn it over,” he said. “It’s what they thought was correct. I did feel like I was done wrong. I felt like I won the fight completely; the guy really only hit me one time during the entire fight. I felt like even with the point deductions, it was impossible for me to lose. But it happens, so I’ll just push forward.”

Caceres showed marked maturity in his prior outing against Cole Escovedo, drawing strong praise for a unanimous decision at UFC on FOX. But another loss could be his last inside the octagon.

Page, Caceres said, is a bigger name and more experienced fighter, so it’s not like he took a step down in competition following his loss. If anything, it’s an opportunity to climb even higher on the bantamweight ladder.

That’s pretty good if you’re trying to reinvent yourself.

“I’m going to try and hit the guy as much as possible, score as many points as I can, and if it’s in my power, not let him touch me,” Caceres said.

As the UFC 189 tour made its last stop in Dublin, featherweight champ Jose Aldo was met with a torrent of abuse from the Irish fans. It might have been unpleasant, but it might also have been just what he needed.